Japan ViewPoint - The Evolution of Logistics Tenants in Japan

Between 2016 to 2018, the high percentage of retail and wholesale business occupiers in Large Multi-Tenant logistics properties (“LMT”) in the Greater Tokyo area corresponded to rapid growth in number of convenience stores.

Since 2019, EC has increased as a percentage of total leased space. Particularly in 2020, the sector was the major demand driver, amid growing online demand resulting from the pandemic. H1 2021 also had as much take-up by EC as there was in the previous year, reflecting continued strength in demand.

Meanwhile, the logistics companies (3PL) remains the dominant industry among logistics tenants, accounting for 57% of all tenants in the Greater Tokyo area, 63% in the Greater Osaka area, 69% in the Greater Nagoya area, and 90% in the Greater Fukuoka area.

The fact that the percentage of logistics companies is higher in regional cities is because it takes more time to build up a logistics network in these locations, necessitating outsourcing to logistics companies.